Russia's southern Krasnodar declares region wide emergency as oil continues to wash ashore

A region-wide state of emergency was declared in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region as oil continued washing up on the coastline.

On 15 December, two ageing Russian oil tankers collided after being by a storm in the Kerch Strait, spilling more than 4,300 tonnes of heavy fuel oil into the Black Sea. Officials say the spill polluted approximately 55 km of coastline.

The two vessels were carrying a low quality oil product known as mazut. Officials deployed more than 7,500 people, many of them volunteers, to rescue wildlife and clean up the shorelines blighted by the black substance.

Russia’s state Tass news agency reported that some 12,000 tonnes of contaminated soil were removed along 34 km of shoreline.

Veniamin Kondratiev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said in a statement on Telegram that initial calculations foresaw the majority of the oil remaining at the bottom of the Black Sea, allowing it to be collected in the water.

“But the weather dictates its own conditions, the air warms up and the oil products rise to the surface. As a result, they are washed up on our beaches,” said Kondratiev.

“Until now, a municipal emergency situation was in effect, which was promptly introduced by the authorities of Anapa and Temryuk district in the first days of the shipwreck. But the situation remains tense. I have decided to introduce a regional emergency regime from today. My deputy Igor Galas will head the regional headquarters.”

The Krasnodar governor also announced a new plan to tackle the mammoth task at hand. “We are monitoring 240 kilometres of the coast. At the regional meeting, we agreed that we would divide this distance into 44 sectors, and assign municipalities of the region to them. They will be responsible for detecting and collecting fuel oil in the assigned territory.”

The pollution has coated sandy beaches around Anapa, a popular summer resort. Kondratiev says his administration will work to restore the area to its former glory, adding that the main priority is clean the coastline as quickly as possible to preserve the resort.